The Difference
by Ichigo and Hiyori
Summary: Ichigo is upset, frustrated, and most of all, confused. Butm when a certain blonde haired Visored admits her feelings, will it strengthen Ichigo's resolve to defeat Aizen? Or, will it be the down fall of all of Humanity? Find out, in The Difference! IchiHiyo pairing, if you can think of a better summary, please do.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Alright, I recently thought of this pairing, and I found very little in regards to people actually writing for this one, less than a full page to be precise. WARNING: Characters may and most probably will be O.C in this chapter. Hope you enjoy, don't forget to review, takes place just after Ichigo starts training with the Visoreds.**

**~Maito**

"Hey, idiot, just what do you think you're doing?" Hiyori yelled, watching as Ichigo stared at the sunset from his position on the bridge, a distant look in his eyes. He didn't even react to her incessant yelling, which outraged the blonde. Hiyori walked up and kicked him in the butt, cursing as her foot felt like it broke.

"Oh, hi Hiyori," Ichigo said, still staring off. Hiyori was about to speak up again, but paused as Ichigo's spiritual pressure started to rise. "Have you ever just felt like there was nothing you could do? Like everything you've done up to a certain point had all been for nothing?" Ichigo asked, his spiritual pressure rising steadily.

"What the hell are you talking about, idiot?" Hiyori asked, slightly confused.

"I've done all this training, all this fighting, and for what? A damned hollow that continually tries to take me over no matter how many times I try to suppress it, the damned hollow that killed my mother is still on the loose, and I've done nothing but cause my friends to become injured. Everything I've done so far hasn't really been effective, I can't even use the damned hollows mask yet!" Ichigo yelled, and the bridge groaned with the pressure he was releasing. Hiyori stared in surprise. Why would he open up to her?

"Ichigo, we're still training. Do you think it was a walk in the park when we first got these damned hollows? Hell no, every day we woke up and our damned hollows wanted to fight us for control, it's taken us this long to actually subdue our hollows permanently. Stop your damned whining and man up!" Hiyori yelled, upset.

"I don't have 100 fucking years! I don't even have a quarter of that time!" Ichigo yelled, turning to face the blonde. For a second, Hiyori actually regretted yelling at him, seeing his face in tears. Though, a thought registered in her head.

"Then let's get training," Hiyori said, and Ichigo calmed down slightly.

"But everybody else is sleeping," Ichigo said, and the reiatsu he was releasing disappeared. Leaving his normal output.

"So? We've always got that dip-shit Urahara's training grounds. It'll teach him, after all, he's always so damned cheery, it's sickening," Hiyori said, and a small chuckle escaped Ichigo.

"Shall we go then?" Ichigo said, throwing up his usual scowl.

"Yeah, let's go, dumb ass," Hiyori responded, and a tick mark appearing on his forehead.

"Who the hell are you calling dumb ass, Midget?" Ichigo argued, and a tick mark appeared on the girl's forehead, though, instead of responding, she kicked him in the shin, causing him to hop on one foot while holding his now bruised shin. "Why you little brat!" Ichigo yelled, prompting him to chase the blonde, who easily outran the Substitute Shinigami, leading him to Urahara Shouten. Hiyori went to open the doors, finding them locked.

"Damn that blonde bastard, I'm going to have to kick his ass," Hiyori mumbled, watching as Ichigo caught up.

"Great, now how are we going to get in?" Ichigo asked, and Hiyori smirked, giving Ichigo a bad feeling. Before the teen could react, Hiyori had thrown him towards the shop window. He crashed through, an Hiyori jumped after him, her sandals crunching on the broken glass.

"Get up, you lazy bastard, before they wake up," Hiyori whispered, and Ichigo rolled onto his back, his face bloodied and cut.

"Damn midgets. Why do they always have to cause me some type of pain?" Ichigo mumbled to himself, standing up, though he was quickly hot with Bakudo #1, Sai.

"Halt, who goes there?" Tessai boomed, flicking on the lights quickly. "Oh, it's just you two. Jinta, Ururu, come in here and clean this glass up. Now, Ichigo, Hiyori, what is it that we can help you with at this time of night?" Tessai asked, motioning for them to follow him to the back of the store, passing by the two employees as they walked by, carrying brooms and dustpans. They arrived in what looked to be Urahara's tea room, and sat around the table.

"Umm, we were wondering if we could use your training grounds, seeing as the other Visored are asleep. It was Hiyori's damned idea to throw me through the window," Ichigo grumbled the last part, and received a slap to the back of the head from said blonde.

"Yes, you can use the training grounds, damned love birds, just keep the sounds to a minimum," Urahara said, walking in and pouring a cup of tea. Ichigo blushed at the comment, and Hiyori grumbled, a red tint on her cheeks.

"Thanks, see you later," Ichigo said, grabbing Hiyori before she could go after the blonde, dragging her down the ladder to his training grounds.

"Anybody else notice that they'd make a funny couple?" Urahara asked, yawning.

"Is that a bet?" Tessai asked, smirking slightly.

'Well now, I didn't know that you were a gambling man, Tessai," Urahara said, a slight look of surprise in his eyes.

"I dabble in the betting fashions every now and then. So, how much would you be willing to bet they'd be a couple?" Tessai boomed, and Urahara smirked.

"500 yen," Urahara replied.

"I bet you 1000 yen that they don't," Tessai said, and Urahara stuck out his hand, Tessai reaching out and shaking it.

_With Ichigo and Hiyori, 2 hours later_

"Dammit!" Ichigo yelled, his mask shattering mid swing. It had only been 1 minute with his mask on, and Hiyori just smirked.

"You're concentrating on your mask too much you idiot. Focus on the battle, on trying to beat me, dumb ass," Hiyori said, easily blocking the attack and pushing Ichigo back.

"Fine, you damned midget, I'm going to kick your ass!" Ichigo yelled, and his mask formed once again. He charged, swinging in an arc and firing off a nameless Getsuga, which Hiyori blocked. The attack kicked up dirt and dust, which surrounded Hiyori and blinded her, if only for a few seconds. It was enough time, though, as Ichigo sped up and swung instinctively, hitting solid metal. He heard Hiyori groan, holding back the attack, and Ichigo grinned under his mask like a mad man, pushing even harder until the dust cleared, revealing Hiyori struggling against Ichigo. "Getsuga!" Ichigo yelled, and Hiyori had a look of shock on her face as the attack enveloped both people, exploding seconds later, both flying backwards. Hiyori righted herself mid-air, landing on her feet, small cuts and some blood running down her sword arm. She frowned, seeing Ichigo disappear mid-air and reappear on the ground in front of her a few feet away, swinging fast. She barely had time to block, sweating as she pushed against Ichigo's massive blade.

"Damn, I may have to step this up," Hiyori said to no one in particular, donning her own mask, pushing with a renewed strength. Ichigo grunted, and Hiyori's eyes widened considerably. This whole time he was only using one arm to attack. Ichigo placed his other hand on the blunt side of Zangetsu, pushing up against Hiyori and throwing her up into the air from the force, though she steadied herself, landing about twenty feet away. An applause was heard, and Ichigo turned, surprised to find the Visoreds standing at the base of the ladder.

"Congratulations, Ichigo, you've held the mask on for half an hour now," Shinji said, and as if on cue, Ichigo's mask shattered and he fell face first, exhaustion taking over.

"Should I take him back to the warehouse?" Hachi asked, and before he could answer, Urahara jumped down from the top of the ladder, pulling out a fan and hiding his face with it.

"That won't be necessary, he can rest in one of the spare rooms above," Urahara said, smirking. Hiyori just scowled and walked up behind the blonde and kicked him the butt, but this time she heard a distinctive snap, and felt pain shoot through her foot.

"Damn.. snaggletooth... is... cute..." Ichigo mumbled in his sleep, shifting. Everybody close enough heard this and nearly fell on the floor, laughing, while Hiyori blushed a deep crimson before kicking Ichigo in the ribs, limping off and muttering something about idiots. After regaining some control of his laughing, Urahara stood up, still chuckling to himself.

"Hachi, could you please take Ichigo up to one of the empty rooms?" Urahara asked, receiving a nod. The former lieutenant picked up the boy and placed him over his shoulder, carrying him up the ladder.

"Ah, that was too funny," Shinji said, wiping off an imaginary tear as he stood back up. Just as he turned towards the ladder, something hard implanted itself into the back of his head, and he was slammed face first into the ground, via Hiyori's foot.

"It seems that Ichigo has formed a crush on you, Hiyori," Mashiro said, smirking.

"It would appear so," Rose said, not really caring.

"Yeah, shorty, and from the reaction it got out of you, I'd say the feeling was mut-" Shinji was cut off as Hiyori jumped on the back of his head, slamming his face into the ground.

"Anybody else have something to say?" Hiyori asked, her face a deeper red than a tomato, partially angry, partially embarrassed.

"Yeah. Why'd you follow Ichigo when he walked off tonight?" Shinji asked, slightly muffled due to the fact that Hiyori was still standing on his head.

"I know why," Lisa said, looking up from the manga she was reading.

"Lisa, you say one word and I will murder you," Hiyori threatened, only receiving a giggle in response from the girl.

"Fine. It was going to be so fun to tell though," Lisa said, still smirking as if she was going to tell.

"I'm out of here. You say so much as 1 word, and I'll gut ya," Hiyori said, jumping up the ladder.

"So, what did she tell ya?" Love asked, genuinely curious as to what could make Hiyori any more vicious.

"Nope, it's a secret," Lisa said, pulling out her manga and started reading it again.

"I bet she has a crush on Ichigo," Urahara said, deciding to hide the fan to uncover his face.

"I DO NOT!" Hiyori yelled from above, all the while everybody broke out laughing once again.

"*Yawn. I'm going back to bed, let Hiyori know to keep it down," Urahara said, and everybody started laughing again.

"I'll let Ichigo borrow some of my manga, it'll help him," Lisa said, a slight nosebleed occurring from the thoughts. This only spurred on the rest of the group, who continually laughed.

"Let's just hope he doesn't use his hollow's mask," Shinji said, smirking before breaking into laughter, as did everybody else once again.

**AN: So, how was that? I may have made the characters O.C, and I'm sorry for that. I promise that in the next chapter, everybody will act like normal, well, except for maybe Ichigo and Hiyori. As you can tell, I tried(and hopefully succeeded) in adding a bit of humor. And also, as you can tell, it's IchiHiyo pairing, others will be decided as the story goes on. Yes, this has a plot, somewhat of one at least. Hope you enjoyed reading, don't forget to leave a review.**

**~Maito**


	2. Chapter 2

_Two weeks later_

"You're getting better, Ichigo, almost as good as Mashiro. That last run was 12 hours, 33 minutes, and 12 seconds," Hachi said, panting from the strain the barrier was causing him. Ichigo looked over, half of his mask still covering the left side of his face, one eye black and yellow, the other normal. He was doubled over, panting, while Zangetsu lay beside him on the floor.

"That's... good," Ichigo said between pants, slowly standing up to see his former opponent, Lisa, unconscious and buried into the wall.

"Good job, Ichigo," Hiyori said, rather politely.

"Whoa, who the hell got her to calm down?" Shinji asked, confused and slightly suspicious.

"Shut the hell up you blonde soup bowl!" Hiyori yelled, turning around to the group. She was red-faced with embarrassment, and somebody would've sworn they saw steam coming out of her ears.

"Hiyori, it's ok. They deserve to know," Ichigo said, standing up with the support of his Zanpakuto.

"Tell us what?" Rose asked, setting down the manga he was reading, interested in what was going on for once.

"We're going out, you dumb asses!" Hiyori yelled, her face turning even more red.

"I knew it!" Lisa said, suddenly popping out of the wall.

"Now, when did this happen?" Shinji asked, smirking when Ichigo answered for her.

"About a week ago, snaggletooth here 'told' me she liked me, and I confessed myself. Simple enough?" Ichigo said, wrapping his free arm around the blonde.

_Flashback_

_Ichigo stood, looking at the sunset once again. He wasn't sad though, instead, he was looking at the sun with a slight smile._

"_Oi, dumb ass, I have to tell you something," Hiyori said, walking up next to Ichigo. The teen just turned, looking down at the blonde._

"_Well, what did ya want to say?" Ichigo asked, turning his full attention to the blonde._

"_Yes.. well. I... um... Oh screw it, words won't do anything," Hiyori finally said, jumping up and wrapping her legs around Ichigo's waist, pulling his head down quickly before mashing her lips against his. Instead of fighting the kiss, Ichigo kissed back before breaking away for a breath._

"_I'm guessing that was what you were going to say?" Ichigo asked, receiving a nod before mashing his lips back against Hiyori's, smiling slightly as he did so. After a few minutes, Hiyori dropped off of Ichigo's waste, smiling._

"_I'll take that as my answer," Hiyori said simply, in a bit of a daze from kissing._

_Flashback End_

"This news cannot leave the warehouse," Urahara's voice said, and they all turned, finding the ex-captain along with Tessai, standing at the entrance of the building.

"Why?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"Because, you're a serious threat to Aizen as of right now, an even bigger threat than all of the Visored fighting together, and he will do everything in his power to make sure he wins. I know Hiyori, and she's tougher than most everybody, but, even her power pales in comparison to Aizen's. Oh, and you owe me Tessai," Urahara said, turning to his companion with a cheery grin on, everybody turning to stare at Ichigo.

"What? Why are you all staring at me like I grew a second head?" Ichigo asked, confused until Urahara's words hit him.

"You idiot, he just told us that you were basically the only chance of defeating Aizen!" Hiyori said, stomping on Ichigo's foot.

"That's correct, and, even though Hachi here is good with Kido, Aizen could rip through his barriers like they were paper," Urahara said, turning serious once again.

"If Aizen even thinks of touching Hiyori, I will rip him into pieces, then I'd shove those pieces down the Espada's throats," Ichigo said, his half a mask starting to reform as an anger filled him. Hiyori turned quickly and smashed her elbow against the mask, sensing Ichigo's hollow on the rise.

"Thank you, Hiyori. Anyways, what I really came here to talk about was Orihime. She's been kidnapped by the Espada," Urahara said, and Ichigo growled. _'Dammit! If it isn't one thing then it's another!' _Ichigo thought silently, cursing himself.

"We're going in there to get her, right?" Ichigo asked, subduing his anger.

"Yes and no. The nine of you are not entering Hueco Mundo, however, Chad, myself, Tessai, and Uryuu will be going, with possible reinforcements from Soul Society. We cannot allow her power to be used by the enemy, it's to great," Urahara said, frowning when he saw the look in Ichigo's eyes. It was the same as when he vowed to rescue Rukia, and, more recently, the same look for when he promised to protect Hiyori.

"I will go, no matter what. Orihime is one of my friends, and besides, it's only four against an entire army," Ichigo said, receiving a flip flop to the back of his head.

"Dammit, are you doubting Urahara? What makes you think you could do any better?" Hiyori asked, receiving a growl from Ichigo.

"Because, a current captain faced off against a weaker Arrancar and was having trouble, while I faced off against Espada number 6, Grimmjow. Granted, I got my ass kicked, but I still fared better than Toushirou," Ichigo said, receiving another slap to the back of the head.

"No means no, dumb ass," Hiyori said, scowling.

"Ichigo, you are needed her to continue to get stronger. So long as you get stronger, then we have a stronger chance at beating Aizen," Tessai boomed, frowning.

"The boy has a point, though. At least wait for the reinforcements to arrive first, then head out," Shinji said, frowning.

"Alright. We'll wait," Urahara said, compromising with the group.

"No. Zangetsu told me to 'Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate'. I'm going, and nobody here can stop me!" Ichigo yelled, and disappeared before anybody could react.

"Shit, Hiyori, Shinji, Rose, and Love, follow me! Tessai, get Yoruichi," Urahara demanded, feeling a gargantua open up. As soon as the portal disappeared, so did Ichigo's reiatsu. The specified group ran out, and Urahara pulled out a weird claw like device and slashed it through the air, quickly throwing it to Tessai. "Nobody is to split up. We'll fight them in a group," Urahara instructed, receiving a nod as they jumped into the portal.

"What'd I miss?" Yoruichi asked, appearing on the scene just as the group disappeared.

"Ah, Yoruichi, just the person. Ichigo has left for Hueco Mundo to rescue Inoue-san, and Urahara brough a group of Visoreds with him. We should get going after them," Tessai summed up, Yoruichi nodding as they jumped into the closing portal.

_With the group_

"Ichigo, get your ass back here!" Hiyori yelled, charging off after Ichigo's receding shape.

"Yoruichi," Urahara said, and the purple haired ex-captain was off, and in seconds was back with Hiyori kicking and screaming over her shoulder.

"Stay here and I'll get Ichigo," Yoruichi said, dropping the blonde and disappearing once again.

_With Ichigo_

"Ichigo, if you don't come peacefully, I'm going to have beat you down and take you back," Yoruichi said, stepping in front of the teen.

"Sure, you can take me back, once I have rescued Orihime! Now, step out of the way," Ichigo ordered, attempting to step around the woman.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Yoruichi said, disappearing in a flash. Ichigo just stepped to the side, effectively dodging to the side.

"You aren't going to stop me, no matter what," Ichigo said, sending a kick to the side. Yoruichi flashed out of the way, reappearing to the right of Ichigo. She sent a kick at Ichigo's head, the teen throwing his hand up and effectively grabbing the kick. He whipped his arm back, throwing the surpised Yoruichi back towards the group, who stared in surprise. Before she hit the ground though, she flashed back to Ichigo, punching at his head.

"Urahara, I'm going to help!" Hiyori yelled, flash-stepping off to where the fight was occuring. She joined in quick, kicking Ichigo in the back of the head.

"Dammit Ichigo, stop and think! Did you really believe you could take on an entire army alone? What was in that damned fucking head of yours. You could've been killed before we got to you!" Hiyori said, punching Ichigo in the side of the face as he got up.

"I was thinking that I was going to save my friend," Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his head where he was kicked.

"I don't care! You had me worried you dumb ass!" Hiyori yelled, hugging onto Ichigo.

"We've got company!" Yoruichi yelled, feeling the reiatsu of 3 captain level Arrancar appearing.

"Well, we meet again, Ichigo," Grimmjow said, appearing before the hugging couple.

"Not so fast, Espada!" Urahara yelled, appearing behind Grimmjow and slashing with his sealed blade, easily being blocked. Two other Arrancar landed, and Ichigo recognized one as Ulquiorra, the other and unknown.

"Urahara, get the emo looking one, I've got Grimmjow, Hiyori, stay safe," Ichigo said, kissing her forehead as she released the hug. She looked up, a bit saddened, though jumped back all the same, watching as the various fights were about to start.

"It's rematch time, Grimmjow," Ichigo said, and he charged, an explosion of power following his take off.

**AN: Alright, how was that? Good, bad? Well, to explain how ichigo opened a gargantua is that he used his hollow powers, in case anybody was wondering. Chapter three will be up some time next week, hope you enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to ask any questions or just review what you thought**

**~Maito**


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